Three days earlier, a New York City bankruptcy judge ratified “interim agreements” that cut the pay of the company’s pilots by nearly 24 percent and of flight attendants by 21 percent. Both unions had earlier agreed to these cuts. The judge also agreed to a demand by the bosses that Northwest impose a 19 percent wage cut on 14,420 ground workers organized by the International Association of Machinists (IAM). The IAM had not agreed to this demand. These cuts represent 60 percent of the $1.4 billion the company claims it needs to reemerge from bankruptcy as a profitable airline.

Northwest has made it clear if it doesn’t get what it wants through voluntary agreements with the unions it will go back to the court to get its blessing for imposing further cuts.

In a related development, Northwest signaled its intention to create a subsidiary called New Co. that would use 1,500 pilots to fly new 70-100 seat planes at further reduced pay.

Warning of a possible pilots’ strike, Mark McClain, who heads the Airline Pilots Association (ALPA) at Northwest, warned, “I don’t see how we go there. They are blinded by their arrogance.”

More than 800 Delta Airlines pilots and supporters rallied in Atlanta November 15 and warned that they will walk out if the bankruptcy court agrees to Delta’s demand to void their contract and impose $325 million in further concessions on top of $1 billion they had earlier agreed to.

Howling that the potential strike would be a “murder-suicide” that would put the company out of business, Delta, which filed for bankruptcy protection September 14, claims a walkout would be illegal because it would violate the Railway Labor Act.

On November 16, the bankruptcy judge postponed a decision on Delta’s demand until November 28.

Meanwhile, at the November 19 rally here, people gave loud applause to Rachel Bailey, a high school student at Bloomington-Jefferson and leader of Youth Against War and Racism. Bailey welcomed strikers to the school and described a walkout of 300 students she was part of to protest the war in Iraq. “When we see the layoffs, the cutbacks, and other injustices you face, it makes us sick—we offer you our solidarity,” she said.

Ted Ludwig, president of Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association (AMFA) Local 33, referred to the company attacks on other airline unions, and said, “If you decide to walk out we will be there to do everything we can to help you get through this.”

“This strike is still winnable,” said Joe Crisco from AMFA Local 9, which represents United Airlines mechanics in San Francisco. “No matter what the media says, or other union officials, there’s still time to push the leadership to honor the picket lines.” He then presented two striking AMFA locals and IAM workers honoring the picket lines with $10,300 in donations.

Dennis Sutton, a vice-president of AMFA Local 5 from Detroit, announced plans for a similar rally there. O.V. Delle-Femine, AMFA’s national director, also announced plans for a national labor rally to support the strike.

After Shane Bastien, a United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) organizer from local 789, spoke, Rebecca Johnson, an IAM member who has honored the mechanic’s picket lines, asked other IAM members who were doing the same to stand up to a round of applause. She then described the different union meetings where she has spoken to get support for the strike. “Whether they are, AFL-CIO or not, we’ve spoken to a lot of unions and they’ve come to the picket lines,” she said. “The support is out there.”

In a separate interview, Mike Klemm, national and local strike organizer for AMFA, described a UFCW Local 789 union meeting he and other strikers spoke at where a member unexpectedly propose a $3,000 donation that was unanimously approved. He described being invited to speak at Laborers Local 138 by Bobby Casper, the business agent. About 40 of the 100 union members went from that meeting to join the mechanics’ picket lines. There was a similar response when he and other strikers addressed the gas workers union, he said, where they got $700 in donations.

The final speaker at the rally was Ray Rodgers from the Corporate Campaign. He outlined a plan to pressure the Northwest board of directors through leafleting and picketing locations such as the National Association of Manufacturers.  
 
 
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